Ladder



C. MOEN LADDER Jan. 9, 1940.

Filed Jan. 25, 1939 INVENTOR. fi/ /me flay/7 Patented Jan. 9 1940 I f ;;LADDER v 'Clarenoe Moen, Spoka W Shv 1.1115p l ioation,dJi-tnuary.23: 1939, Serial No. 252,472

"6 Claims.

g invention erelates. c to. a, step ..ladder and it i wionecobject of.,.the invention IQoPIOYidE). a

. ladder whichais extensible for verticaLadjustment ;a c :cor c ling togwhfithere antall -:ladder vor a short ladder is; needed, thehladdersbeing also, so

const uctedt ataitwfllbesp opped. in an upright nshnedrwition. tor use andreadily movable immonep si ando anothe 'Ano t her ob ect of the inventionuis to provide ns. a; ladden .-.-.s'ec.tion

adders sect a a sig s. slow r. 1 the am ;.t me,shiit nsagnese tion 0f,,.a .P DBr .vertisa ly, o i hatn he prop wi accommodate sel vtoi h heishton h la d n cAneth n-nbie mf t e invention .isto. provide an impr ed. win nedrum -Qr.;i ql 9 the cable by means of whieh the upper ladder sec- .tion andthelilpp r. on.. 1ie.prop are verlasstdmeso ne es s f nfi I i t 1s "turned the c me wiuibe i 'd w naw ei i M F g.,1-is a perspective View of the improved ladder. 3

I Fi is a-s szt qn .rv w tak n. lon itudinall lthrqugh t r l Pr ,Qf hel dde tF e. Fig. 3 is an enlarged which the cable is wound,

Fig. 4 is a view taken along the line 4- 4 .of

F and show nefihed s.arid-r he for co trolling rotation -of the indlass.

1 Fig. 5: is an enlarged sectional viewf of the machi f rqt vm unt rie the .iro tmHe ofthe ladder and controlling ,rotationwofa the rollers. i

This improved ladder i s an eggtension-i ladder.

and has an upper section and a lower section 2, the upper section fittingbetween side rails of 11 ersest n eeis ideblv ld n n eseme with the lower section by hooked; clips 3. Hooks carr e r-t esi e-rafls JJ'ehQE PBQ SjL QQE e en o i illustra djinth .aqcsmpa w view of thewindlass about section for engaging crung'saof ithe 'lowerflladder section and securely. holding .the upper ladder section in'vertically adjustedposition. 'I hisvis a conventional means forholding the upper ladder section in aniadjustedpositiom' Q Side'b'rac'es' 5 areprovided for. the ladderwand havetheirv upperfends secured against outer faces of theLsideyrails :ofcthe lower .laddersection.

These .bracesidiverge downwardly from the side rails .of .the. lower ladder section .and,l..at1.jtheir lower ends, ?are'. formed withopenings to receive end portions of I arod; or shait which 1 passes 5 through a pipe. or tube 1 having: -its .ends .abllttingainner-faces of thexprops}. The tube also passes throughqlower .endflportions of the, .side rails .ofthe lower ladden section. Rollers v8 and '9 are rotatably: .carried b'y end-portions. of the rod or shaft. 6.,=Whicl'i. project ."frorn'-. thei.props, ,the-

roller 8 .being .heldgin placeby the head.v l 0 of the rod and the .roller 9 being held in.place.by a nut I] screwedupon thethreaded.end'portion 120i the rodv Ahandle-J3 iscprovided for. the nut in order that-it may be easily turned. and tightened todraw the shaftor rodlongitudinallyand apply pressure;v to -;frictionally 'hold .the rollers .statione ary and thus 'preventlunintended rolling movement ofg'the ladder out ..'of .a desired position. When the nut. is loosened, the: rollers can turn freely andgthe ladder may then beeasilysshifted Q; 1

from-Lone position to. another. d There has also. been provided a rear props! 4 consisting of, telescoping'aupper andtlo'wer I tubular 1 I sections, l5 1 and sl 6. The .upper or. outer section 'l 5 has its upper .end .fixedl to a, shelf or platform I 1 pivoted upona rod. 18. at the. .upper end; of the with 1a.. casterJ 9 for. .re'stingmpon thejground. or

floor .and cooperating with'ithe 1mm .i'ollers to a permit: .easy I shifting-inf the ladderiiron place 'toiplace. a r The. upper sections..-o f the ladderand the} rear prop are .to. be simultaneously shiftedivertically during adjustm'entlofthe ladderior-height', and in order toido 'soithere has been provided a .winde -,-lass;.Which extends between braces 2i 'and is' ,rotatably. mounted in. bearing .brackets 22. A

- .turningjhandle; 23. is. provided atdone, end of the windla'ssan nco ider that, theiw l dlass may be .held; aga ns etr0 ra ero a i I a e bein t rned i id eqtion twwind theceb e Ether n er 'ih s h en-i m e pewor 998125 .35 "upper ladder section 1 Land the. lower orziinner. section. of the .prop isiiprovided. at its. lower; ,end I portion engaged with a hook 28 midway the length of the windlass and wound about the windlass in opposite directions, as shown at 29 and 30 in Fig. 3. The portion 3| of the windlass about which the portion 290i the cable is wound is of less diameter than the portion 32 of the windlass about which the portion 30 of the cable is wound. Therefore, when the windlass is turned to wind the cable thereof, the two portions of the cable will be wound at different rates of speed. This is essential in order to cause the upper ladder section and the upper section of the rear prop to be shifted vertically inproper timed relation to each other. The forward portion 24 of the cable is extended upwardly for engagement with the pulley 33 at the upper end of the lower ladder section and then down wardly with its end securedto. the lower rung of the upper ladder section, as shown as 34. The rear portion 24b of the cable extends rearwardly from the windlass and after being engaged with the pulley 35, is'extended upwardly through the lower tubular section l6 of the rear prop and secured to a pin .36 passing through the upper end of this lower propsection. The pulley 25 is rotatably mounted at the lower end of the upper prop section. The pulley 25 is rotatably mounted at the. lower end of the upper prop. section H) with a portion projecting through the slot 31 formed longitudinally in the lower proper section and from an inspection of Fig.2 it will be readily seen that when the windlass is turned to wind the cable thereon, engagement of the cable with the pulley 35 will cause theupper prop section to be shifted upwardly to a raised position of adjustment while the portion of the cable extending forwardly from. the windlass is exerting pull on the upper ladder section to raise the same. The fact that the rear portion of the cable is wound about the larger portion 32. of the windlass causes it to be wound at a greater rate of speed than the'forward portion of the cable which is wound about the smaller portion 3| of the windlass and hasdirect pull upon the lower ladder section. Therefore, the upper section of therear prop which hasits' pulley 35 resting on the rear portion of the cable intermediate the lengththereof, will be shifted vertically at the same speed as theupper ladder section.

Horizontal braces 38 are provided to .maintain the rear prop in proper angular relation to the ladder and extend horizontally between lower end portions of the prop and the braces 5. Each of the braces 38 consists of a tubular front section 39 pivoted'to the companion brace 5 and a rear rod or. section 40 pivoted: to the [lower prop section and having its forward portionv slidably received in the tubular frontsectionwhere it is secured in a set position by 'a set screw 4|.

7 I When this ladder is in use, it is set up as shown in Fig. l of the drawing and rolled along .the floor or other surfacerto the place wherezit is to be used. The nut II is then tightened to exert binding pressure on theurollers 8 and v9. and the ladder will thus be prevented from moving out of place. The crank 23 is grasped and the windlass turned towind the front and rear .portions of the cable thereon, and during such winding, the. upper laddersection and the upper section of the rear prop will be shifted-upwardly to the desired height where they will beheld as the pawl 25 will prevent retrograde rotation of the windlass. By moving the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet 21, the windlasswill be permitted to turn in a direction to unwind the cable and the slidable longitudinally of the lower ladder section, a rear prop having an upper section pivoted at its upper end to the upper ladder section and a lower section telescoping into its upper section, a brace extending between the lower ladder section and-the upper section of the rear prop, a windlass carried by said brace, and a cable having its intermediate portion wound about said windlass and its end portions extending from the windlass and connected to the upper sections of the ladder and the rear prop for shifting the same vertically when the Windlass is turned.

2. In a ladder construction, upper and lower ladder sections, the upper ladder section being slidable longitudinally of the lower ladder section, a rear prop having an upper section pivoted at itsupper end to the'upper ladder section and a lower section telescoping into its upper'section, bracing means extending between-the lower laddersection and the upper sectionof the rear prop; a windlass carriedbysaid bracing means, and a cable wound upon saidwindlass and connected with sections of the ladder and the prop for shifting upper sections 1 thereof vertically when the windlass is turned.

3. In a. ladder construction, upper and lower ladder sections, the upper ladder section being slidable longitudinally of the lower ladder section,a rear prop having an upper section pivoted at its upper end to the upper ladder section anda lower section telescoping into its upper section, bracing means extending between the lower ladder section and the upper section of the rear prop, a windlass carried by said bracing means, a guide at the lower end of the upper prop section, the lower prop section being formed with a. longitudinally extending slot, aguide-carried'by the upper portion of the lower ladder section, and a cable having its intermediate portion connected with said windlass, portions of the cable being woundabout the windlass 'in opposite directions and extending forwardly and rearwardlytherefrom, theforwardly extending portion of said cable being engaged with the guide of the lower ladder section and downwardly therefrom and secured to the lower end portion of the upper ladder section, and the rearwardly extending portion of said-cable being engaged with the guide at the lower end of the upper prop section and extended upwardly through the lower prop section and secured at the upper end of the lower prop'section.

4. The structure of claim3 wherein the windlass is formed with a portion of relatively small diameter having the forwardly extending portion of the cable wound thereon, the Windlass also being provided wth a'portion of relatively large diameter having the rearwardly extending portion of the cable wound thereon.

tion, a rear prop pivoted to theupper'end of said upper ladder section and having upper and lower telescoping sections, bracing bars extending between the prop and the ladder sectionswith their front ends connected to the lower ladder section and their rear ends secured to the upper prop section, vertical bracing bars at opposite sides of the lower ladder section secured at their upper ends to the lower ladder section and diverging downwardly therefrom, braces under the first bracing bars secured at their front and rear ends to the vertical bracingbars andthe lower prop section, a Windlass extending between the first bracing bars and rotatably mounted thereon, and a cable Wound about said Windlass and connected with the upper ladder section and the upper prop section for shifting said sections vertically when the Windlass is turned.

6. In a ladder construction, upper and lower ladder sections, the upper laddersection being slidable vertically relative to the lower ladder section, a rear prop pivoted to the upper endjof said upper ladder section and having, upper and lower telescoping sections, bracing bars extending between the prop and the ladder sections with their front ends connected to the lower ladder section ,and their rear ends secured to the upper prop section, vertical bracing bars at opposite sides of the lower ladder section secured at their upper ends to the lower ladder section and diverging downwardly therefrom, braces under the first bracing bars secured at their front and rear ends to the vertical bracing bars and the lower prop section, a Windlass extending between the first bracing bars and rotatably mounted thereon, a cable wound upon said Windlass for shifting the upper ladder section and the upper propsection vertically when the Windlass is turned, a caster atthe lower end of the rear prop, a tube extending horizontally through lower ends of the vertical braces andside bars of the lower ladder section, a rod extending throughsaid tube with its end portions projecting outwardly from lower ends of the vertical braces, rollers carried by the projecting end portions of said rod, a head at one end of said rod, and a nut threaded upon the other end portion of said rod and when tightened exerting pressure to bind the rollers against rotation.

CLARENCE MOEN. 

